For years, Ewan McGregor carried a strange impression of his place in Star Wars: he had played one of its most recognizable heroes, yet he thought many fans disliked the films that made him Obi-Wan Kenobi. That feeling followed him long after the prequel trilogy ended. His return in 2022 changed the conversation, and his latest comments show how deeply that experience stayed with him. The interesting question now is not simply whether he would put the robes on again, but what kind of story could make another return worthwhile.
What Ewan McGregor Said
During a career conversation at the 2026 Edinburgh International Film Festival, McGregor looked back at the harsh reaction to the prequel trilogy. According to The Hollywood Reporter, he said he learned “a lot about not giving a shit” after those movies were “dragged through the mud.”
That quote sounds blunt, but he was not attacking fans or pretending the criticism never existed. He was explaining what it felt like to spend years believing audiences did not like the films. McGregor said he avoided conventions after the prequels because he assumed that was how people felt, and he accepted it.
The surprise came at the premiere of the Obi-Wan Kenobi series. When the first two episodes played for thousands of fans, McGregor heard a reaction he had never experienced before. The noise made him realize that a large part of the audience had formed a very different relationship with his Obi-Wan while he was away.
He was equally direct about returning. “I hope so,” he said when asked if he would play Obi-Wan again. He argued that the end of the series leaves room for more stories, whether those become another series or movies.
That is a statement of interest, not an announcement. Lucasfilm has not confirmed a second season, a new Obi-Wan film, a script, or a production date. A separate Variety report about McGregor’s E! News interview makes the situation even clearer: McGregor said he is ready, but Disney “seem to not be ready.” The actor is making his case in public; the studio has not said yes.
The Prequels Were Criticized, but That Was Never the Whole Story
It would be easy to flatten this history into “everyone hated the prequels, then everyone loved them.” That is not accurate.
The movies received plenty of sharp criticism when they were released, especially for dialogue, performances, pacing, and the heavy use of digital environments. Even StarWars.com’s archive of original Attack of the Clones reviews shows how divided the response could be. Some reviewers praised the spectacle and the story’s place in the larger saga, while others found the movie emotionally distant or awkwardly written.
McGregor’s performance, however, often survived the larger argument. Even people who disliked parts of the trilogy could see the difficult job he was doing. He had to begin as a young, impatient Jedi and gradually become a believable earlier version of Alec Guinness. McGregor told the Edinburgh audience that he had tried hard to be “a young Alec Guinness.” By the time of Revenge of the Sith, his voice, posture, humor, and restrained sadness had made that bridge much easier to believe.
The other major change was generational. Children who watched the prequels without years of expectations attached to them grew into adults. They carried affection for Obi-Wan, Anakin, Padmé, the clones, and the worlds of that era into conventions and online fandom. The movies did not suddenly become technically different, and old criticisms did not disappear. What changed was which part of the audience had the loudest chance to express what the trilogy meant to them.
That is why the 2022 premiere mattered so much to McGregor. It gave him direct proof that the loud criticism he remembered was not the complete verdict on his work.
The 2022 Series Repaired the Actor’s Relationship With Obi-Wan
The Disney+ series arrived 17 years after Revenge of the Sith. The official Lucasfilm announcement placed it ten years after that film, with Obi-Wan watching over Luke on Tatooine while still carrying the trauma of the Jedi Order’s fall and Anakin’s transformation into Darth Vader.
That timing gave McGregor a different acting problem. In the prequels, he had been reaching forward toward Alec Guinness. In the series, he was much closer to Guinness’s age and was playing a man who had already lost almost everything. The performance could be quieter, more tired, and more inward.
The series itself remains divisive. The supplied Reddit discussion, recovered through an archived Reddit API, makes that split obvious. The highest-rated response argued that fans could keep debating the prequels and the series, but McGregor “nailed” Obi-Wan and deserved another chance. Other popular comments praised his chemistry with Hayden Christensen while criticizing the writing, scale, and supporting material around them.
That distinction matters. Fans are not necessarily asking Lucasfilm to repeat the exact shape of the 2022 show. Many are saying the actor still has more to give, provided the next story is more focused.
The Ending Leaves Space, but Not Unlimited Freedom
The final episode gives Obi-Wan a genuine turning point. He stops smothering Luke’s childhood with his own fear, makes peace with Owen, and finally sees the Force spirit of Qui-Gon Jinn. The official Part VI episode guide confirms the exchange: Qui-Gon tells him, “I was always here, Obi-Wan,” before leading him onward.
McGregor pointed to that exact gap in his E! interview. At the end of the series, Obi-Wan rides into the desert with Qui-Gon. The next time movie audiences meet him, he is Alec Guinness’s older Ben Kenobi living beyond the Dune Sea. McGregor wants to explore what happened between those moments.
There is room in current Canon for that. But the gap is not a blank check.
Obi-Wan still has to remain a hidden guardian whose life eventually settles into the lonely rhythm seen in A New Hope. Another public duel with Vader would risk weakening the original film’s sense of reunion and make it harder to believe the Empire never found him. Another rescue involving young Leia could also make her message to him in A New Hope feel less natural. A galaxy-sized mission would create the same problem: the bigger the adventure becomes, the more the story has to explain why it left so little visible mark.
The best use of this period is therefore not to keep raising the stakes. It is to show the final stages of Obi-Wan becoming Ben.
Three Return Ideas That Could Actually Work
The following possibilities are editorial and fan ideas, not reported projects. None has been announced by Lucasfilm.
1. Qui-Gon Teaches Obi-Wan How to Live With His Failure
The cleanest continuation is already standing beside Obi-Wan in the finale.
Qui-Gon’s return should not turn into a simple ghost-guided treasure hunt. The more interesting story is spiritual and personal. Obi-Wan has accepted that Anakin chose Darth Vader, but acceptance is not the same as healing. He still needs to learn how to listen to the Force without turning every feeling into fear for Luke.
A small journey with Qui-Gon could explain how the broken survivor of the series becomes the calm mentor played by Alec Guinness. It could also explore what Qui-Gon learned after death and why Obi-Wan is eventually able to retain his own identity in the Force. The stakes would be internal, but they would matter directly to the larger saga.
2. A Small Tatooine or Outer Rim Story
One of the strongest ideas in the fan discussion was a self-contained mission with no parade of major characters. Think less “secret war against the Empire” and more “wandering samurai helps people who can never know his real name.”
That scale fits Obi-Wan’s situation. He could protect a settlement, confront criminals, help refugees, or quietly deal with an Imperial threat without announcing that a famous Jedi survived Order 66. The conflict could test whether he is capable of helping ordinary people while keeping his larger duty to Luke intact.
A story like this would also restore something central to Obi-Wan: compassion. He is not important only because he knows Skywalkers. He is a Jedi because he cannot ignore suffering, even when helping carries a personal cost.
3. Clone Wars Memories or a Commander Cody Encounter
Fans also keep returning to the unfinished emotional weight of the Clone Wars. Flashbacks could reunite McGregor and Hayden Christensen without inventing another present-day Vader duel. They could finally show more of the friendship that the films often had to describe between major plot events.
Commander Cody is another popular suggestion because his betrayal was never personal; the inhibitor chip turned a trusted soldier against his general. A restrained encounter between the two survivors could force Obi-Wan to face the human cost of the war without changing the basic direction of his exile.
This idea would require careful Canon writing. Cody’s exact path after the Imperial era material already shown on screen would have to line up with established events. It is a possibility, not evidence that Lucasfilm is planning it.